That Same Old Lost Kid
by nodumbbitch
Summary: As something rises in Stars Hollow, Rory discovers a secret about herself - and the demons residing in Jess.
1. one

**That Same Old Lost Kid**

This town. It's dark, and its darkness goes unseen by its oblivious townspeople. Two of the first townspeople whose shroud is about to be lifted from in front of their eyes are crossing the street, shadows playing in the light. The two women are yammering about something or other, with little coherency.

They make their way to the brightly lit building with a pair of familiar faces inside. As the older of the two women pushes open the door of the establishment, a little bell jingles. The younger of the two men looks up and the older rolls his eyes, going straight to the coffee.

The younger woman steps inside behind her mother and the nephew makes his way over to her, taking in her beauty step by step – her sky blue eyes, her chestnut hair, her porcelain cheeks. Heat rose though his body as it always did when he saw her, and vice versa.

"Rory," he said in his dark, deep tone of voice he had about him, nodded his head for emphasis. She returned the gesture and took a seat next to her mother at the counter. The boy bit his lip slightly and turned to go and wipe off some more tables.

"Wow, Friday night dinner was horrible," said Lorelai, the older woman. Luke, the own of the diner, just gave her a stern look, which she returned with a sweet one. "Don't you want to ask me how Friday night dinner was, Lukey?"

"Lemme guess… it was horrible. And never call me Lukey again," he spat back.

"Or you'll what?"

"I gave you decaf." Lorelai coughed and gagged and Luke looked at her with laughter in his eyes. Jess walked his way behind Rory and took her hand, dragging her out the door and away from the scene in the diner. Lorelai and Luke were quite lost in each other's eyes, despite both being in relationships.

Jess dragged Rory off to the gazebo and pulled her up into a deep kiss, which made her fall him in his arms, responding to his every move with a quiver or a quake. He pulled away and the two took a moment to catch their breath. They were breathing rapidly, holding every movement sacredly. He smirked, and she looked upon him with adoring eyes, despite their foreheads touching.

"Hi…" he whispered sweetly.

"Hi…" she whispered back. He kissed her again, holding it long, pulling her close to him. When she pulled her head away, his arms were still pressing her hips to his. He removed one of his hands and smoothed her hair. She smiled meekly and pressed her lips to his.

"Missed me?"

"Greatly…" she said into his lips. When the two pulled away, longing dripping off them like sweat, Rory's hand had found a home on his chest. He was warm against her despite the bitter November cold surrounding them.

"Good, because I missed you too." Rory laughed.

"In the three hours that you haven't seen me, you missed me?"

"In the three hours _you_ haven't seen _me_, you missed me too? How sweet."

"Indeed," Rory chuckled as she kissed him sweetly. "Sadly, I should probably go now."

"Don't. Let's go… somewhere. Anywhere. It's a Friday night in Stars Hollow, there's got to be some fun to be had." Rory sighed, smiling, and kissed Jess lightly.

"Don't get me wrong, I would like to go somewhere, anywhere with you, however, I did have a terrible time at dinner tonight, and I think my mother and I need to comfort each other."

Jess made a puppy dogface, and kissed Rory softly on the cheek, grasping her hand in his. "What if I don't want to let you go?"

Rory moaned softly into Jess's lips and pressed herself into him, "Nobody ever said I didn't want you to let me go, but I really should."

"Please? Another, I don't know, five minutes. Your mother can wait five minutes, can't she?"

"You know Lorelai, and she cannot ever wait five minutes. She is an extremely impatient woman. You yourself know this."

"I wouldn't let it bother me," he said, kissing Rory playfully. She turned into jelly in his arms and she truly did not want to leave, but there was something happening – she sensed it - and she needed to leave. "Please don't leave," he pleaded.

"I have to," Rory said putting her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair softly and kissed the top of her head.

"You are the world's biggest tease, you know that, right?"

"Definitely," she smiled to him and left his side. Jess stood in the gazebo for a moment more, watching Rory run to catch up with her mother. A soft breeze, bitter cold, rustle through the leaves of Stars Hollow as Jess wandered off, shivering with cold. There was something happening to the town, he could feel it in the marrow of his bones, he just couldn't tell what.

Rory looked back at her boyfriend woefully for a second, as she really did want to be with him at that moment in time. What she saw scared her completely.

As the wind kicked up, blowing an icy blast in Rory and Lorelai's faces, Rory could've sworn she saw a dark, black figure against the shadows of the town, following Jess as he wandered off into the night. Before it continued after him, the figure turned and seemed to stare directly at Rory. She shivered and held on to her mother tightly. Lorelai smiled down at her daughter, oblivious.

Rory wasn't sure if it was just her imagination or if it was something real, but whatever it was, it had sent her real, true feelings of terror.

Luke watched Jess and Rory part ways, and Rory and Lorelai join. He had seen Jess walk off into the night and could've sworn that he saw someone following Jess. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, if anything, but it had a foreboding air. Something was happening to the town, but what?

He turned off the lights in the diner and left the door unlocked for Jess, although he had never needed it to be.

Jess continued walking through the abandoned Stars Hollow. It was so different at night, especially now, in late November. Everything seemed dark and evil, and he could feel eyes piercing his back as he strode through the streets.

Something big was happening here.

* * *

THE END of chapter one 


	2. two

**That Same Old Lost Kid**

The bus came to a sharp stop and Rory looked up. It was her stop. She was coming home from an emergency Saturday Paris-called paper meeting. She stood up and went to the door, which opened and let her out.

As she began to walk toward Luke's, someone behind her called her name. She spun around to see no one she knew – or rather, a lot of people she knew, but no one that might call out her name as she walked to Luke's. She also did not recognize the voice. It had a slight British accent to it, and very few, if any, had a British accent in Stars Hollow.

Again came the call of, "Rory Gilmore!" Rory looked around, unable to pinpoint the voice, until a man in a brown tweed suit hopped off the bench at the bus stop as the bus pulled away. "Are you Rory Gilmore?" he asked in his charming accent.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"My name is Mr. Giles. I've been sent to retrieve you."

"Retrieve me? For… what?"

"Well, to explain to you why I've been sent to retrieve you."

"Okay. Well, I have to go meet my mother, so, its nice meeting you Mr. Giles, but I'm not interested in being abducted." The strange man laughed.

"I'm not abducting you, Miss Gilmore. If you'd prefer, we can sit here and talk, in the open, or walk around where people can see us."

"See, I would take you up on that offer, but I really do have to meet my mother."

"What if I told you that if you didn't get the information I need to give you, your mother, your boyfriend - everyone you held dear – would die?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. I am completely incapable of killing a massive amount of people."

"Then what are you saying?"

"Come with me, and I'll help you understand."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding you, Rory?"

"Well… no, but I'm not going with you."

"Lorelai Gilmore, this is a matter of life and death for your whole town. If this vital information does not reach you, it could mean the end of humanity."

"Yeah, right." She turned and headed towards Luke's.

"If you don't believe me, at least let me show you what I'm talking about."

She stopped, sighed, and turned to face him. "Fine. I'll listen to whatever it is that you have to say. But I refuse to go anywhere with you, understand?"

"Fine, good, just… hear me out."

"Okay, I'm listening."

He led Rory to the gazebo and talked in a hushed whisper to ensure that no one would hear. "Do you believe in the undead?"

"Vampires?"

"Yes."

"Why would anyone? They're just legend created by over-zealous Catholics in the early A.D. years."

"Well, for one, you should. Into every generation, a slayer is born. She is the only one in the entire world who has the power to kill the vampires. However, there are many potentials in the world. Only about 1 of the potential slayers actually fulfill their destiny."

"This is crap, I'm leaving." Rory started to get up but Giles pulled her back down.

"You must listen to this."

"You're telling folk stories. None of this is true."

"You will find very soon that this is completely true. Now, let me continue." Rory sighed and settled down, ready to hear him out. "A slayer gets her powers when the slayer before her dies. Now, this means that a small amount of potential slayers become actual slayers, until very recently. The resident slayer, named Buffy Summers, died but was revived, thus calling forth a second slayer, who, in turn, also died and another slayer was called to duty. Her name was Faith. Faith pretty much went psycho killer and helped plot to destroy the world, but Buffy stopped her. This was a few years ago, mind you. Only a few days ago, Buffy, Faith, their friends, and many, many potential slayers were able to stop the First Evil. However, the only way they could do this was by altering the story of the slayer. Willow, a very powerful witch."

"A witch? Okay, you really are crazy. All this is insane."

"I'm not finished Miss Gilmore, you'll have to stay."

Rory rolled her eyes and mumbled, "fine," under her breath.

"Willow was able to reach the essence of the slayer lineage and give every potential slayer the strength to hunt vampires. Every single potential in the world's powers were awakened and it is our job to round them up and train them."

"Okay, so say I believe you, you are saying that I am a vampire slayer?"

"Yes."

"Do you have dreams about Antonio Banderas?" Rory asked jokingly.

"Excuse me?"

"Joke. I am joking."

"You remind me very much of Buffy. I was her Watcher, I trained her."

"What the hell is a Watcher?"

"The person who trains and prepares the slayers."

"Okay, this is just too weird and I'm late for meeting my mother, so I'll have to go." Rory picked up her bag and started off the gazebo, but Mr. Giles had more to say.

"Rory, I'm not asking you to come with me to wherever it is we're going, all I ask is that you allow me to bring you to meet the group. And I will be your Watcher until we can find a suitable replacement for me, understand?"

"No, I don't understand. You're a creepy British guy in a tweed suit and you're telling me I'm some sort of vampire slayer with special powers. You come to my town and tell me all this crap about the slayers and I'm supposed to believe you and come with you? What the hell is that about?"

"Look, Rory, all I ask is that you meet me here tonight at around 8:00. Will you do that please?"

Despite the fact that this was all creepy and insane, it intrigued Rory and before she knew what she was doing, she nodded and ran off to meet her mother at Luke's.

"Hey, Rory," Jess said as she burst through the door.

"Hi Jess. Where's my mom?"

Luke came out from the kitchen. "Your mom called, and I have no idea why she did, but she called and said to tell you she wouldn't be able to meet you."

"You're kidding."

"Rory, do I ever joke?"

"No… right, sorry." Luke turned back to his job and Jess slid his arms around Rory's waist from behind her. Rory smiled and turned to face him, greeting him with a light kiss on the lips.

"Hi."

"Hi," Rory was kind of lost in Jess's eyes when she realized something. "Jess, I know we had plans for tonight and all, but they have to get bumped."

"What, why?"

"Something came up… I have to help out… Madeline and Louise tonight. They're really behind on their articles on the paper but they don't want Paris to know and they kind of asked me to help them out."

"Oh," Jess said, disappointment written all over his face.

"But, if you want, I am completely free now, so…" Jess kissed her.

"I'm working now."

"Yeah, but there's nobody here and since when did you care whether or not you skipped work?"

"True. However, I owe Luke some money and this is the only way I can pay him back."

"Again, you could do that later." Rory pressed her lips to his and he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

"Fine. You've convinced me," he said playfully before tossing the rag on the table. "Movie?"

"The theatre isn't open."

"Yeah, but we can still rent."

"In the middle of the day?"

"Hey this was your idea."

"Yeah." As the two walked out of the diner and down the street, Rory looked over to where she and Mr. Giles had spoken not minutes earlier. He was gone, but that wasn't too fascinating.

A wind kicked up and blew Rory's hair around her face. When it died down, she had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. She rested her head on Jess's shoulder and he pulled her in close.

* * *

THE END of part two

**Disclaimer - I do not own any of the characters from either the Gilmore Girls or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All the Slayer mythology and story is owned by Joss Whedon and all Gilmore Girls characters are owned by Amy Sherman Palladino. I am putting this at the end because I didn't want to ruin the surprise.**


	3. three

**That Same Old Lost Kid**

Rory walked into the town square. She saw the same old guy, Mr. Giles, sitting in the gazebo, along with several other people: a young woman, dark haired, a trail of smoke billowing out of her lips; a pair of women, one brunnetteand one redhead sitting on one of the benches, whispering to each other; a small blonde woman conversing with a tall, dark haired man (who, as far as Rory could tell had an eyepatch); and one other young man dressed thoroughly in tweed. Not very many Stars Hollow residents were around, and if they were, they took no notice of the strange people in the gazebo.

"Ah, Rory!" Mr. Giles said, standing up, as Rory approached. The dark hair woman smashed out her cigarette and looked Rory up and down. The redhead jumped up and ran over to Rory.

"Hi, there, Rory. Wow, let me look at you. You don't look like a Slayer. But then again, Buffy didn't look like a Slayer. I think it's the really thin frame. Oh, I'm Willow. Hi." Rory took a step back, wide-eyed and nodded hello to Willow.

"Sorry if she scared you," the younger brunette said, and took Willow's arm. "She gets a bit jumpy now and then. I'm Kennedy."

"Hi," Rory said hesitantly, and Kennedy smiled to her, then to Willow, then back to her. "So, what's going on here?"

"Obviously, we're here to abduct you," said the man with the eye patch. "That was a joke. I like making the funnies. But yeah, Willow's right. You don't look much like a Slayer."

"But neither did Buffy," Willow piped in. The blonde woman winced a little bit, and then smiled sweetly at Rory.

"I'm guessing you're Buffy."

"Yeah," she said, smirking. "That's Xander, with the eye patch. Faith, the creepy one."

"You're all creepy."

"Well, yeah," said Faith, or who Rory assumed was Faith considering she was the only female left to be introduced.

"You know Giles, and that's Andrew," Buffy said, pointing to the second tweed-clad man.

"Greetings, Rory. I assume that Mr. Giles has already informed you that you are a slayer of the vampyres."

"Uhm, sure." Rory shook Andrew's outstretched hand.

"Sit down, will you, and listen to our tale?"

"Andrew, shut up," several people said in unison, but everyone did take a seat. In turn, they explained a part of the story to Rory, in apparently very little detail, but it seemed like a lot to Rory.

"So, if there is only one Slayer at a time, how are all three of you Slayers? And me?"

"Well, Willow here, worked her magic mojo and made all potential Slayers more than just potential, if you catch my drift," Faith said.

"So, if there are thousands of new Slayers out there, why did you all come to me?"

"We were all in the area. Plus, you're one of our first. Since this event was pretty current, we're all together anyways, so we might as well just do this all together," Buffy stated. As she finished this, another man and a young girl about Rory's age came up.

"What'd we miss?" the man asked. Faith hopped up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I remember malls. I like malls. There should be more malls in the world."

"Rory, this is Robin," Giles said, gesturing to the large black man who now sat beside Faith.

"And my sister, Dawn," Buffy added.

"Hey Rory. Nice to finally meet you." The meeting continued, to the point that they announced that, since Rory was going to Yale, Andrew was to be her watcher.

"Wait… he's to be my watcher?"

"Yes," Giles said. Rory looked in disbelief at Andrew.

"Oh…kay?"

"Well, he will train you and eventually, your senses will be as honed as me and B's," Faith said. "You'll be one of the girls."

"Great," Rory said to the smiling group. "So… uhm? Now what?"

"Follow me," Andrew said in a very cheesy serious voice that mad Rory and Dawn giggle. Rory got up and followed Andrew, but when she looked back at the gazebo, everyone else seemed to be gone, which Rory found rather odd.

"Andrew, did they just disappear?"

"No. You just can't see them anymore."

"Why not?"

"Willow put a spell on the gazebo so that nobody would bother us – nobody could see us or want to walk through it. Very handy thing."

"Right." After about another minute, Rory thought to herself, 'This is insane. I'm following a crazy Trekkie who claims to be able to train me to kill vampires? How did I believe this? Why am I still following him?' "Where are we going," she asked.

"You'll see." He tried to make a sleek turn, but tripped over a little rut in the road. Rory laughed a little as she rushed over to help him up. "I meant to do that."

"Of course." As Andrew brushed himself off, Rory looked over behind him. "No."

"What?"

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not going in there."

"What, where?" Andrew turned around and faced the graveyard. "Oh, there. Yeah, you are. I just have to show you something. And if there's any problem, Buffy or Faith'll come running."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Why shouldn't you?"

"You could be a rapist or a serial killer or something."

"Then why did you follow me?" Rory paused, and she didn't have an answer to this question. "Exactly. Now come, we have a date with a vampire."

"I don't ever want to date a vampire," Rory said quickly.

"You should really get advice from Buffy on that…" Andrew said without thinking.

"What?"

"What 'what?'"

"You said, 'You should really get advice from Buffy on that.'"

"On what?"

"On dating a vampire!"

"Oh, well, yeah. Buffy's dated a few vampires in her time."

"Okay, that's even more insane than the rest of this. I mean, I am dreaming, right? Right?" Andrew just shook his head. Rory sighed. "But, I'm going to Yale. I have a boyfriend I really like. I'm graduating in a week! None of this can be real. My life can't change this quickly at this time. I won't let it."

"Well, it's too late now, honey. The Powers that Be Chose you, amoung countless others. You can't turn away from that. Pretty soon word will be out in the underground that all potentials are Slayers and they will kill every single girl that they find. One of those will be you, trust me."

"How do you know I'm going to die if I don't so this?"

"Because, they'll know you. And it's especially bad because you wouldn't be able to protect yourself. That's where I come in. I am to train you so that you don't get brutally massacred by vampires and not know why."

"Great. Thanks." Andrew stepped across the threshold of the graveyard and beckoned Rory across. She rolled her eyes and trudged after them.

"I am so telling my mother," Rory whined under her breath as she followed Andrew.

* * *

I had to update this, otherwise Time Rowanwood would kill me. Or severely stab me. Or something.  
YAY! 


	4. four

**That Same Old Lost Kid**

Rory trudged through the graveyard, following Andrew and muttering to herself. "Well, if you would just be patient, this would happen a lot quicker," Andrew remarked casually, before coming to a stop. "Here we are," he said, plopping down in the grass. Rory stood above him, a thoroughly confused look on her face.

"Where we are?" she asked.

"Here," he replied pointedly. "We are here."

"Well, what's so special about this particular spot?"

"You'll see," Andrew said, staring at the grave. "Sit," he commanded, patting the ground beside him. Rory rolled her eyes and polopped down on the spongey grass beside him. He was staring intently at a grave a few rows over. Rory cocked her head to look at the headstone. It was nothing special. In fact, she hadn't even heard of the man buried there. Which was strange for a Stars Hollow-ite. However, it was clear the grave was new, and soon Rory bored of looking at it. "When are we leaving?" Rory whispered sharply, but Andrew hushed her.

"Be quiet. There are a lot of unrested souls here, would you like to wake all of them up?" Rory sighed and started picking at the grass. It felt as though it had been hours. "My mom's expecting me soon," Rory whispered, looking at her watch. Again, she was hushed by Andrew.

Rory was falling asleep in her seat when she heard a rustle beside her. Andrew was getting up. She bent her neck to look at him, and he was staring at the grave, but getting something out of his pocket. She sighed to herself, whispering "What now?" under her breath. Andrew looked over at her.

"Rookie, catch," he tossed her a wooden stick and then stepped back into the shadows. Rory gave a strange look at the ground where Andrew had just been. It seemed like it was moving a little bit. Then, very suddenly, a hand shoved itself out of the soil. Rory screamed and dropped her wooden stick. It clattered on the ground, right next to the human body pulling itself up out of the grave. Rory screamed again, looking at the deformed faces of one of her former townspeople. "Pick up the stake," Andrew called to her. She shook her head in fear and jumped behind the little man. He sighed.

"I don't see you doing anything," Rory said to Andrew. The person had now fully emerged from the ground and was heading towards Rory and Andrew.

"I'm a watcher. It's your job to fight," he said, fear rising in his voice. He handed another stake to Rory and shoved her in the direction of the vampire. The vamp took a swing and before Rory knew what was happening, she was ducking it, and kicking him in the shin. "Oh, that was helpful," Andrew said sarcastically. Rory fought the urge to say something sarcastic back, but was unfortunately about to get the socks knocked off her. "Hit him in the face," Andrew called, and Rory obliged. However, the exact moment she crunched his nose, he barreled her stomach with a tightly balled fist. She fell to the ground and he just shook the blood off his face. Rory was breathing heavily, trying to ignore the pain, but her body just wasn't having any of it. The vampire bent over and picked her up like she was a feather. She fought the urge to cry, kick him in the groin, and run for terror. However, the kicking him in the groin part would've been helpful. "Stake him!" Andrew called sharply, already far away. Rory looked down at her hand, and then looked at the vamp's advancing teeth. She shoved the sharp end of the wooden stake into his chest, and he growled in pain before backing up and exploding into dust.

"What... the... hell?" Rory screeched. Her whole body was shaking, and she just fell down on the ground, staring at the pile of dust. "What?"

"He's a vampire."

"He exploded!"

"EXACTLY!" Andrew said, taking my arm and pulling me up. "Now, weren't you complaining about missing your mother?" He pushed me off out of the cemetary. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Gilmore. Bring a cross and a stake, and we'll get Faith to teach you some tricks." He parted from my side and got lost in the shadows of Stars Hollow at night.

Rory shivered. This was way too creepy, and way too real. At first, she had thought it to be some joke. Then, she thought that it wasn't all that serious, if true. Now... it was so strange. She went into Luke's diner and sat down for a cup of coffee at the counter. She didn't see her mother anywhere. "Bad night?" Luke asked her. She nodded woefully, staring into the black sludge of her cup. "You got back late. Lorelai was looking for you. And you're covered in dust... and mud. Where've you been?"

"Nowhere," she mumbled before pushing her coffee away. "Is Jess around?"

"Actually, I haven't seen him all night. I assumed that you two were off together."

"Oh. Well, we weren't. Are you sure you don't know where he is?" Luke nodded. Rory sighed, and got up. "I'm going home. See you tomorrow, Luke." Luke stared at her back as she left the diner. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't figure it out. He went over to the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?"

"Lorelai... its Luke. Rory was just here. It looks like she was in a fight or something. And she apparently hasn't seen Jess in ages, so I don't think that they were off together. She just started going home, so she should be there soon."

"Thanks Luke," said Lorelai lowly into the phone before hanging up.

Rory found herself in a familiar spot, looking for Jess. She called out his name weakly. It was so dark, she couldn't see him anywhere. She looked around the bridge, the surrounding area, and saw no sign of her boyfriend. She huffed and went off back to her house, arms clutched over her chest.

However, what she missed, hidden in the bushes, was a body. It was bloody and torn at the neck. His hair was gelled up to make perfect crazy hair, and his slightly lopsided mouth was open blankly, no words coming out. In the darkness, she had missed him entirely.

* * *

I am so sorry this one took so long. I'll try harder for chapter four.


	5. five

**That Same Old Lost Kid**

Rory sat next to her mother, playing with her coffee in Luke's. She wanted to tell Lorelai everything that had been happening the past few weeks, absolutely everything. But she couldn't bring herself to say it. After school, she had agreed to attend another training session with Faith. Just about everybody except for Faith and Andrew had left to go collect more girls. She had watched as Faith and Robin parted - it had been bittersweet and sad. It just made Rory think of Jess.

"How could he have left again?" Rory mused aloud. She was sick of waiting for him to come around. He had simply disappeared - nobody had seen him since that night of the first slayage, as Faith called it. Lorelai smiled weakly and rubbed Rory's back.

"Maybe something came up and nobody knew about it," Lorelai murmured quietly. She went silent next to her daughter, stroking her back lovingly. The bell behind them tinkled, and usually Rory would've spun around in a cloud of optimism - maybe it was temporary. She hadn't stopped hoping, but she was becoming more and more pessimistic about it. Instead of Jess, a young woman entered. She had a tight black vinyl messengerboy hat pulled over her head, hiding her eyes. She plopped down at the counter next to Rory. "Coffee please. Black," she said lowly, as though her choice of coffee was an immense secret. She pulled the hat off her head and ran her hands through her hair. A sudden rush of cherry scent poured into the air, and then woman turned to flash her white smile at Rory. "Hey, Ror? What's kickin?" she asked, then she saw Lorelai. "Hi, you must be Lorelai," Faith said, smiling her best for Rory's mother.

"I am. And I take it you know my daughter?" Lorelai said, sticking out her hand to shake Faith's.

"Like pie. I love pie. I love Rory. Rory is like pie," Faith babbled. "Sorry, haven't had my coffee yet," she said, just as Luke plopped a cup of coffee down in front of her. He had been sucked into a trance of indifference and total silence. As far as Rory knew, Luke hadn't said a word in a week - not even to Taylor. Which was a mircale of sorts. "Oh, I bet you want to know how I know Ror-bear, here?" Faith asked before taking a sip of her coffee. "Ow, hot. But, yeah, I met Rory on the bus from Hartford a few weeks back and noticed the book she was reading. Totally struck up conversation. I told her that I was on my way here with my boyfriend and my brother. I dunno why they brought me here of all places, but here I am." Rory couldn't help but smile at Faith's creativity, and the book comment. Rory knew that Faith wouldn't touch a book, even if her life depended on it.

"And your name..."

"She's Faith," Rory said, smiling slightly to her mother.

"How long are you here for, Faith?"

"I'm not sure. I'd have to ask my brother. His name's Andrew. Total geek, but supercool. He's not pie, but I still love him." Lorelai looked over the strange woman that had befriended her daughter. She was wearing a black jean jacket matching black jeans, and a white tanktop. Her hair was in light curls draping over her shoulder, and she had a scar visible on her chest. Faith noticed Lorelai looking her over and winked at Rory. She pushed her coffee away, leaving two whole dollars for it before waving good-bye to Rory and Lorelai and walking out of the diner. Kirk was sitting in his seat, completely mesmerized by Faith.

"So... wow," Lorelai said blankly, clearly about to make some sarcastic remark about Faith. "Strange woman."

"If only you knew her," Rory said. "But she's pretty interesting. She knows a great deal about music." Rory took a sip from her coffee, avoiding her mother's gaze. Lorelai had noticed small bruises all over her daughter's arms and legs the past few weeks, and glowered slightly into her coffee, wondering if this Faith woman had anything to do with it. Uncharacteristically, she mentioned nothing, as she knew Rory was going through a bit of a tough time with Jess gone and everything. She knew she couldn't keep her mouth shut much longer, but she was trying. "I have school," Rory said, before standing up and kissing her mother on the head. "I have paper stuff after school, but I'll be home for dinner. I promise." She swung out of the diner and off to the bus.

When she got to the bus stop, she saw Faith waiting for her on the bench. "That wasn't awkward at all," Rory said sarcastically. Faith smirked and pulled her hat tighter over her head.

"I'm sorry. I don't do well with parent-types. I mean, I tried to kill B's mom like, three times. Or something. But, she was very nice in the beginning. Fed me and invited me over for Christmas and everything. Then I was evil."

"And when she was bad..."

"She was awful." Rory sat down next to Faith and sighed. School would be out in about a week and a half, thanks to winter break. Snow had already fallen on Stars Hollow and it looked brilliant. Rory only wished that Jess could've been there to share in the winter splendor with her. She sighed heavily, and Faith glanced at her. "I'm sure your boy will show up sometime. He probably just skipped down for a few weeks and got caught up in it. I know it happens, believe me."

"But why now? There was nothing going on between us, and everything seemed to be going so well for him. I just don't understand."

"Sometimes the best you can do is try not to understand," Faith said, shrugging. The two women sat in silence in the December cold. As the bus pulled up, Faith and Rory gave each other quick good-bye hugs. "I'm picking you up after school, just so you know. I'm not all that great a driver, but I got me a rental, so we're five-by-five." Faith grinned at Rory as she ascended onto the bus. From behind the gazebo, Lorelai watched the goings-on between the two girls. She was so utterly confused by the sudden appearance of this woman. She wanted deeply to know what was happening to Rory, and she had no idea how to figure it out.

"So, you remember everything I taught you?" Rory nodded. "Alright. Try and get out of the house around 11.30 or so, so you can get your first patrol overwith. See you then," muttered. Rory began her walk to Luke's from the busstop. She and her mother had agreed to meet there for dinner. As she entered the warmth of the diner, with the light dimming in the sky, Lorelai gave her a look.

"You're spending a lot of time with that Faith girl."

"Yeah. She teaching me how to spar, actually."

"Oh," was all Lorelai had to say. "Have you met her... brother?"

"Yeah. He's kind of spectating. Its strange. He doesn't do much of anything. I'm hungry."

"Oh. I ordered you a cheeseburger, and here's some coffee for you." There was a lull while Rory sipped at her coffee. "I thought you said you had a paper thing?"

"Oh. I did."

"You did... say it... or you did have a paper thing?"

"Both. But it didn't go as long as I told you it would. Sorry. I wasn't sure how you'd take the whole... sparring thing," Rory said, and true guilt was entering her voice. She wanted to spill everything to her mother, but she couldn't. Not yet.

"I don't mind. I was just... worried." Another lull. Luke placed the cheeseburger in front of Rory, and the mother and the daughter ate in strange silence. This awkward silence hadn't been much present since the first time Rory met Dean and was thinking of not going to Chilton.

"You sure that you don't mind?" Lorelai shook her head, and Rory smiled, eating her burger more happily. Lorelai feigned a smile, and looked down at her fries. They didn't look as appetizing as she had hoped.

Back at home, Lorelai went immediately to her room. Rory knew after about an hour that her mother had fallen asleep, and Rory waited patiently for 11.30 to arrive. When it did, she pulled jeans on over her pajama pants, and covered her entire upper half in a down jacket. She put a cross necklace around her neck, which felt weird, because she wasn't really a religious person. She opened the window almost reluctantly, as though she were going to run up the stairs and tell her mother everything. However, she hopped out, being careful to make as little noise as possible and shut the window behind her.

She ran to meet up with Andrew, who was shuddering, huddled over in the cold next to Faith. "I miss California weather," he muttered to himself. Faith rolled her eyes.

"It's just like back home in Boston, only with less terrible traffic," she said to him, trying to cheer him up. "Ready to go, Ror-bear?"

"Ready," Rory said, muffled througha scarf and tightened jacket hood.

"Can you even see through that thing?" Faith asked, laughing slightly. Rory shrugged, and Andrew just pulled his jacket hood tighter around his head. Faith took Rory's arm and led her off into the night, explaining patrol, even though Andrew had explained it to her about a thousand times in two thousand more words.

After a while, Rory was falling behind, slightly tuckered out from the night's events. As far as she knew, it was one in the morning. Her eyes began drifting closed, and she knew that Andrew would disapprove because she wasn't staying on guard. He, however, was practically plastered to Faith's arm. Suddenly, something dashed out from behind Rory and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump.

"Hey, Rory," said a husky voice, and Rory was wrapped in the tightest embrace possible.

* * *

Okay, I've gone through the entire thing and realized how many mistakes there are. Such as Rory knowing that she's going to Yale in November, and a bunch of other things. There are also a few inconsistancies. However, I have decided to ignore them for the time being and when I finish a few other projects, I will go back and edit some stories. Plus, the writing in chapter 3 is kinda off (as in awful... ha ha, rhymage). Innyhoo, expect better, less inconsistent content in the coming months.


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